Snapshots
by Ever-the-Optimist
Summary: A series of unrelated, requested one-shots.  Details inside.  Lots of fun!
1. The Answer

**Requester: Anonymous**

**Prompt: In "I Dream of Shades of Red," Sasuke mentions how he found Naruto as a baby. Can you write how Sasuke found him?**

**Warnings: May be slightly confusing if you haven't read "I Dream in Shades of Red."**

* * *

**Title: The Answer**

It was sickening. Sasuke couldn't stand the press of the bodies around him, the salty smell of sweat and blood hanging thick in the air. He was hard pressed to keep to his oath. He had sworn off killing, having seen way too many dead bodies in his un-life. But the crowded club and his fraying nerves were beginning to take their toll.

The club was new, recently opened for the children of the so called "grunge" movement. Like most things in this new era, it tended to give Sasuke a headache. But it was an easy source of prey, and it did allow for his coven to relax, so Sasuke agreed to the scheme. It didn't mean he had to like it, but he supposed that's the way things were.

Sasuke moved across the room to stand with Kakashi.

"I think that this coven is becoming too large to bring out all at once."

"Hm," Sasuke grunted in reply.

"I think we are becoming too noticeable."

"Hm." Kakashi huffed and tried again.

"We will eventually have to start coming in shifts. It could raise some problems, considering half of your coven has problems…controlling their appetites." Sasuke sighed, realizing that Kakashi wasn't going to let this go. He pushed away from the wall to face him.

"Fine. Do what you want. I am leaving." Kakashi frowned.

"All right. I will see you at home?"

Sasuke shrugged and turned to leave. To be honest, he wasn't sure. He was so tired. He could hardly stand this existence any more, so why should he struggle through it? It had been something he had been considering for some time. He had told himself that he had to insure that Itachi's progeny stayed in line, but Kakashi was more than capable of that. For a while, he had thought his purpose was to change the eating habits of vampires, spreading the idea of keeping the prey alive, but he knew enough to know when he was fighting a loosing battle.

So what was the point? Sasuke sighed as he made is way down the street, away from home. He couldn't stand this existence, the monotony, the same grueling routine day after day. He grinned wirily to himself; it had been so long since he had seen a sun-rise. Perhaps it would be a nice change of pace.

He was nearly startled by the sound of someone hitting some trashcans in the alley he was walking by. He paused as the strange scent of blood and milk hit his nose. He wrinkled his forehead in confusion and followed the scent around the corner to the back of the building. There was a woman, wrapped in layers of sweatshirts and a torn skirt, just lowering the lid to a dumpster. She was so tiny with matted red hair clinging to her pale face. To Sasuke's surprise, when she turned around and saw him, she didn't scream or whimper or even look surprised. Instead, she sighed heavily and leaned back against the dumpster.

"Hello," Sasuke said cautiously.

"Hello," she replied. Sasuke looked more carefully at her and noticed she was shaking. Taking a quick sniff, he couldn't smell fear. But the scent of blood was clinging to her. He ran his eyes down her small frame, looking for injuries, but couldn't find any.

"How are you this evening?" There was a voice in his head telling him to see what she had put in dumpster, but he wanted to make sure she was all right. The girl shrugged.

"Okay." She shifted along the edge of the dumpster, like she was trying to sneak away.

"Are you injured?" She froze and looked back at him carefully.

"No," she said slowly.

"Your name?" Sasuke took a couple of steps closer to the girl. She didn't move away.

"Kushina."

"Well, Kushina, how old are you?"

"Sixteen." So young! What was she doing out here, in this neighborhood, at night?

"Should you be home?" She shrugged and didn't answer. Sasuke pressed on. "What are you doing back here?" Finally, he received some reaction. She finally looked away from him.

"What's your name?" Sasuke considered her a moment.

"Sasuke. Will you answer me now? What did you throw away?" She shifted her on her feet before mumbling an answer.

"I miscarried." Sasuke's mind was a bit slow to catch up. The first thing that he thought was that she was very young to be pregnant. Then, the implications of what she said finally registered.

"You have thrown away your baby?" Sasuke prided himself on his control over his emotions, but even he heard the disgust and shock in his voice.

"I didn't know what to do!" She was crying now. "The baby's dead and I don't have money for a funeral."

"Where is the baby's father?" Sasuke finally started to move to the dumpster. Gently, he took the girl by her arm to move her enough so he could open the lid and look in.

"I…I don't know who the father is. I'm…I'm a…" Sasuke looked back at her and understood.

"All right." There was a wooden box just on top of the trash. Carefully, Sasuke pulled it back out to look in. There was a dead baby inside, still covered in its mother's blood and juices. Sasuke sighed and looked forlornly back at the infant. "I will take care of it. You should go home."

"You'll give it a good burial?" She sounded almost hopeful. Sasuke nodded and pulled out some money from his pocket. He handed it to her without counting it.

"Eat something, and then go home and sleep." She smiled at him.

"Thank you. Thank you, Sasuke. I won't forget you." She turned and scurried out of the alley. Sasuke sighed again, and gently pulled the baby out of the box. He cradled it in the crook of his arm and rubbed at its chest.

"I am sorry little one. Perhaps it is better this way. Perhaps I will join you." There was a light flutter under his fingertips, and Sasuke, if he could still breathe, would have caught his breath. He brought the baby to his face and listened carefully. _There!_ There was a soft thump and a light inhale. The baby was still alive!

Sasuke's mind raced, trying to connect several train of thoughts at once. He had to get the baby help, had to find a place for the baby to stay during the day, and had to do it quickly. Vaguely, Sasuke remembered that there was an orphanage not too far from his coven's house. Sasuke didn't remember moving, but the next he was aware, he was rushing up the steps of the orphanage, pounding on the door.

An older woman opened the door. "What in the world…?"

"He is dying. Help him. Please." The woman wasted no time in taking the baby from him and returning to the bowels of the orphanage. He followed, but he stopped short as she entered the medical wing. The scent of blood was too strong back there, and he didn't want to endanger the baby any further.

Several hours later and he was beginning to be worried. He didn't have much time before he would have to leave, but he wanted to make sure the baby was okay. Finally, the woman came out, looking grim. Sasuke stood and prepared himself for the news.

"He's alive, for now. I'm not making any guarantees. Where'd you find him?"

"A dumpster." The woman huffed and put her fists on her hips.

"Some idiot teenager, then. Well, the baby's badly malnourished and it looks like it was born pretty premature. But I've seen worse with a happy ending. I've also seen better with a sad ending." She shrugged. "Time will tell."

Sasuke nodded in understanding. "Can I come back tomorrow evening to check on his progress?" She affirmed that this was a possibility, and Sasuke took his leave.

* * *

"Well, he's a fighter. That's for sure. We've named him Naruto."

"Naruto," Sasuke tasted it. "He's still alive, then?"

"Yup. And if he makes it through tonight, I think he'll be just fine. We were just about to see if he'd take a bottle. Do you want to feed him? We're stretched a bit thin trying to get the rest of the kids in bed." Sasuke nodded and followed the woman to the nursery. She handed him the bottle and motioned to the crib before leaving the room, following the sounds of screaming children. The door clicked closed behind her, immersing Sasuke in silence and alone with the baby.

Slowly, he walked up to the crib and looked over the edge. Huge eyes were looking back up at him. Naruto reminded him of sunlight- bright blond locks and sky blue eyes. Sasuke felt himself smile for the first time in centuries.

"Hello, Naruto. Are you hungry?" Naruto whimpered and reached a small fisted hand towards him. "All right." Sasuke reached down and carefully picked the baby up.

The baby fed…enthusiastically. Sasuke chuckled. The poor little thing was starved, so it was no surprise. Sasuke stroked the baby's fine hair away from his face. The baby whimpered as the bottle was finished.

"Hush Baby…Naruto. Do not fret. I am here." Sasuke leaned down and kissed Naruto's forehead. "I will always be here. For you."


	2. Stockholm

**Requester: Alyssa**

**Prompt (summarized): Angsty story where Sasuke is bad, destroys Konoha, and steals Naruto away to be his sex slave. 2000+ words (I made 2,138!) I may have slightly altered the exact request, but I hope you're still happy with it!**

**Warnings: Non-consensual stuff, many many character deaths, violence, and bad behavior.**

**Rating: M**

* * *

**Title: Stockholm**

Naruto had never been so glad to see Sasuke. Konoha's latest battle with Akatsuki had been rather brutal. He didn't know what they still wanted him for- last he'd checked they couldn't get that damned fox out of him due to the death of the last person who knew how- but they seemed rather persistent. And Naruto would rather slit his throat then see his friends get hurt, so he went with Akatsuki. He'd been in this damn cell with these damn chakra blockers for a whole damn week with no sign of what they wanted with him. He hadn't even been properly interrogated yet! And he had been so looking forward to practice his anti-interrogation skills.

And then Sasuke just breezed in here like he owned the place. Naruto had been ecstatic to see a familiar face. Sasuke had stood silent while Naruto filled him in on the epic battle that ended rather anti-climatically, how the cell smelled, how he couldn't wait to go home and show Sasuke his new place, how he already had it worked out how to get the old hag to pardon Sasuke. And then Sasuke had left. Turned around without saying a word and walked away. Naruto had stood there, dumb with his jaw hanging for a couple of moments, before he snapped it shut and started pacing around the cell angrily.

A few hours later, the interrogations started.

* * *

Naruto lay exhausted in his cell after another long day of aggressive questioning. His eyes were closed and, if he focused just right, he could feel his skin healing. Akatsuki's interrogator almost rivaled Ibiki. Naruto heard the door of his cell open and close.

"You're in charge now, aren't you?" He didn't receive an answer, but he didn't need one. "Why am I here?"

"Have you given up yet?" Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"No." He paused. "What have I not given up yet?"

"Idiot." Naruto huffed in frustration, but he kept his eyes closed.

"Are you going to come home yet?" Mentally, Naruto shrugged. That was a good a place to start as any. A couple of quiet moments passed without any response, but just as he was about to open his eyes and repeat his question, he was hauled off the floor and slammed into the far wall face first. He yelled out in pain as a couple of his previously healed injuries reopened. "Sasuke, what the fuck are you…"

"Shut up." Sasuke fisted the back of Naruto's hair and slammed his head against the wall. Naruto's vision immediately tunneled and he was afraid he would black out for a moment. He blinked his eyes against the blood dripping down across his face only to scream out in pain. His pants had been pulled away and _something_ had been slammed inside of him hard. The shock of it made Naruto's mind slow to catch up to the pain. It was excruciating, worse than anything that had ever happened to him before- and he had been through a lot! He tried to push away from the wall, but that only pushed Sasuke in further. He clawed at the wall, desperately trying to get away, but all that accomplished was ripping his nails off.

It seemed to last forever, and by the end Naruto's voice had melted from screams of pain into one long litany. "Why Sasuke, why Sasuke, why Sasuke?" Sasuke didn't answer him, but left him bleeding on his cell floor.

* * *

There were two options for Naruto. He could cry like a baby and dwell on the pain and the insult and be scared, or he could not. He figured that Sasuke was going for the former, and he didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing his suffering, so the next time Sasuke came to his cell, Naruto was sitting in the middle, waiting for him to show up.

"Well," he said with a forced lightheartedness, "now that that's over with, are you going to come home yet?" The look on Sasuke's face could have killed, but Naruto answered it with a wide smile.

"You little fool," Sasuke replied. "You have no idea what you've done."

Sasuke left, without incident, and Naruto didn't see him again for nearly a month. The "interrogations" never stopped, but no questions were asked. Naruto figured that Sasuke already knew what he knew, but he just liked to see Naruto in pain.

* * *

Naruto was already awake when Sasuke finally came back. He hadn't been sleeping all that well anyway.

"Let's go. I have something to show you." Naruto stood from his spot.

"You're trusting to take me out of here?" Sasuke shrugged.

"You aren't much of a threat." Naruto scowled, but had to admit that he might not be at his best after months of torture and starvation. So, Naruto followed Sasuke out of the cell, out of the hideout, and into the wilderness. But, Naruto had to notice that even though Sasuke didn't think he was a threat, there was a rather large group of Sasuke's men following closely behind.

They traveled for a good solid week before Naruto noticed where they were heading. "We're going home!" Naruto heard a few snickers behind him, but didn't pay them much attention. Sasuke turned to face him with a nasty smirk.

"Yes, Naruto. We're going home."

When they got closer to the village, Naruto knew that something was wrong. He could feel it. The first thing he noticed was the absolute stillness, the silence that surrounded the woods. The next thing he noticed, closer still, was the overwhelming scent of blood and charred skin, the scent of it leaving an ashy taste on his tongue. Finally, as they finally reached the crumbling wall, Naruto saw the remnants of the once proud Konoha. Bodies littered the streets, blood spattered on the walls. Naruto fell to his knees and retched. From the corner of his eye, he saw a blob of pink, but he refused to turn his head and see.

"They're all dead," Sasuke said unnecessarily. "I've killed them all. Your Hokage, Sakura, Iruka, even the great Kakashi. Do you want to see them?" Naruto shook his head and kept his eyes down. "But, Naruto, I've killed them for you."

Naruto struggled to breathe. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't made for this kind of thing; he couldn't think. His heart was being torn in two, trying to find a way to reconcile the Sasuke of his memories and his heart and the Sasuke that was standing in front of him, his tormentor. The one thing he knew was that he wanted Sasuke to hurt as much as he did. "You've finally made it, Sasuke." Naruto saw Sasuke's shoes move in front of him.

"Made what?"

Naruto felt hollow. Everything, everything he had always fought for, killed for, was gone. His village, his home, his friends, his family, everything. "You always said you wanted to be better than your brother. You made it. He just killed a family. You've killed a village." Naruto was expecting the kick, but didn't bother to block it. Sasuke's shoe broke his nose as he was kicked back over his heels to hit his back. He laid there, breathing in his blood and staring up at the sky. He felt like laughing. It was a bright, clear day. Everything was gone, stolen from him. Except Sasuke.

"Then will you avenge them? Will you avenge your village as I avenged my clan?"

"No," Naruto sighed. He was too exhausted to fight. He just wanted to sleep, wake up and find this was all a nightmare. "I'm nothing like you." Sasuke crouched down and pulled Naruto to sit up so he could see him eye-to-eye.

"Well, then quit asking me to go home with you. You have no home to go to. I don't want to hear any more about it." Naruto choked back the words in his throat. Sasuke smirked. "Do you hate me?"

"No." Sasuke sneered, but Naruto pushed on. "But I hate what you've done to yourself." Sasuke sighed.

"Still trying to save me, Naruto?" Naruto swallowed hard.

"Yes. Because I still believe there is something there worth saving."

The punch to the back of his skull forced his tired mind to shut down. But, before he went unconscious, Naruto saw the little frown creasing Sasuke's brow.

He woke up alone in his cell, the stench of rotting blood still lingering in his nose.

* * *

Naruto knew Sasuke was there before he opened his eyes. It had been like that for weeks, months, years. Sasuke was so much a part of him now that he could feel him. Naruto wondered what kind of mood Sasuke would be in today.

"Do you remember when we went to the coast?" Sasuke didn't answer. Ah, so it was to be one of those days. "Wouldn't it be nice to return? We could live on the coast." Naruto waited for Sasuke to make his move, but it never came. Naruto propped himself up on his elbows to look across his cell into Sasuke's eyes. "Why am I even here, Sasuke? Why didn't you kill me with the rest of Konoha?"

"Did you want me to kill you?"

"I would let you," Naruto said, "if it meant that you could be happy."

"How very unlike you, Naruto."

"If it meant that you could stop your insanity, be happy and achieve your dreams, then I would let you."

"You'd let me kill you in order to save me?"

"Yes," Naruto said without hesitation.

Sasuke waited for a moment before he went on. "You're assuming that you are my best friend."

"I am. Still." Things went rapidly down hill from there. Sasuke snarled and ended up forcing himself inside Naruto again, but by now, this had become routine. Naruto still screamed, it still hurt, but now his litany had changed. "I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you."

"I hate you," Sasuke would reply. "I hate you."

* * *

There was a rattling blast above him. Naruto knew that he should be concerned, but he somehow couldn't find enough energy in him to be alarmed. He stayed in the middle of his cell, counting the stones of his ceiling, when two familiar figures blew up his cell door.

"Hey, Naruto, come on. We've got to get you out of here." Kankuro had a huge gash on his head and most of his "war paint" was gone, but he was still looking determined. Temari's left arm was hanging at an odd angle and looked useless.

"Come on, come on!" Temari urged. Naruto finally pushed himself to standing and followed them out the cell and up the flight of stairs.

"I'll just assume that Gaara's here too, playing a nice game of tag with Sasuke?" Kankuro shot him a look.

"Yea, something like that. We've been looking for you everywhere. That crazy, psychotic bastard destroyed Konoha."

"Yea," Naruto said, "I know."

Temari, from behind him, confirmed Naruto's fears. "There were no survivors."

"There wouldn't be," Naruto replied, "Sasuke is nothing if not thorough." They were attacked at the top of the stairs, Temari squaring off with the Akatsuki member and yelling for them to go on. Kankuro hesitated, but not for long. With a frustrated growl, he grabbed Naruto's elbow, and with a last look at his sister, ushered Naruto down the hallway and out the entrance.

They didn't make it much further before another blast from behind them knocked them off their feet, rubble from the building falling down on them. Kankuro, in a last ditch effort, had shielded Naruto from a majority of the blast, but a large boulder crushed his skull in the process.

Naruto observed Kankuro's corpse for a moment before finally looking around him. It was night time, clear skies with bright stars, and the grounds outside the building were littered with dead soldiers, Sand and Akatsuki. He scanned the battlefield, looking for survivors, but everything was still. Even the building behind him was quiet.

He was free now, but where was he to go? Konoha was destroyed, Gaara and his siblings were most likely dead, and if Sasuke was still alive, which Naruto was sure he was, then no place would be safe if he stayed there. And after so long of searching for Sasuke, chasing after Sasuke, his mind and body rebelled against running _from_ Sasuke. So, Naruto turned around, stepping over carcasses, and went back inside. He followed the carnage and sand to the main meeting room, where there was a bloody, scorched stone where he assumed Gaara had once been. Sasuke was slumped against the far wall, bloody, but none worse for the wear.

"Well, Naruto, it seems like it's finally just us."

And Naruto finally fell to his knees and wept.

* * *

**Quick, quick! Someone request something fluffy! I'm drowning in angst.**


	3. The Things We Do

**So, requester was anonymous, but this sounded like fun. The request was a Kyuubi/Sasuke/Naruto story; I'm fairly sure this isn't what you had in mind, and it definitely isn't fluffy, but I had a lot of fun writing this one. It's a tad different than what I usually do, but that's one of the points of this exercise. **

**Happy New Year! Hope you enjoy this little ditty. **

**

* * *

**

The Things We Do

Sasuke knew that it was said to torment him. The narrowed eyes, the slight snarl that was meant to come across as a grin, the irritated tap-tap-tap of her nails were all dead give aways. From the start, Sasuke knew why he was allowed back in the village. The official reason his past sins were forgiven was Orochimauro's decapitated head he brought as a peace offering, but Sasuke knew the real reason was to shut Naruto up. But just as Sasuke knew why he was accepted back, he also knew that Naruto's beloved Hokage still saw him as a traitor. She made her opinions clear, snide comments once Naruto was out of ear-shot, and Sasuke had grown used to ignoring them.

He would have ignored this one too, if it wasn't for two small factors. The first, Sasuke had done his homework. He knew his family's own sordid start, so he knew that what she said held weight. He could still ignore it, find some other excuse, if it wasn't for Sakura's carefully worded warning the first time he showed up at Ichiraku and paid for all of Naruto's ramen.

She had tugged on his arm, pulling him out of the stand and down the street before mumbling an insult about Naruto's intelligence. Sasuke allowed himself to be mildly surprised when he heard Naruto yell out that he heard that! and allowed Sakura to pull him further away. She had chewed her lip a bit before she started.

"_You know he's merged with the Kyuubi."_ Sasuke had shrugged and asked her her point. She'd frowned. _"His chakra is almost completely purple. Every day he takes on more of the demon's characteristics. His senses, his healing, his power, everything is…tainted by that thing inside of him."_ Sasuke had shrugged again, and asked her to kindly get to the point. She had huffed and glanced back in the direction of the ramen stand, now out of sight. _"Just…be careful. Sometimes, when I look at him, I see more demon than Naruto."_ That last statement had pissed him off beyond all belief, and he had stalked away and resolved to not think about her comments again.

So when Naruto smelled the enemy miles before Kakashi's dogs, Sasuke joked that Kakashi was loosing his touch.

And when the whisker marks on Naruto's face seemed just a bit darker than usual, Sasuke made a mental note that the lighting was bad and that he had to change the light bulbs.

And later, when Sasuke noticed that the sheets were shredded after they had sex, he reminded himself to take the kunai out from underneath the pillow next time.

The flashes of red he saw out of the corner of his eye were just a trick of the light, the guttural growl was a snore, the occasional eruptions of fiery temper were stress induced. Sasuke could excuse it all. Until today.

Sasuke huffed at his train of thought and rolled over to look at his bedmate. Despite the day he had, he couldn't help but grin. They had moved Naruto into his small apartment today. It had been when they had gone to submit his change of address forms that Tsunade had found her opportunity. Her words still echoed through his skull.

"_The Kyuubi's always had a __thing__ for Uchiha's."_

Sasuke had shrugged and went to pull Naruto away from his conversation with Iruka. It wasn't until later, once Naruto was asleep and Sasuke was left to think on his own, that the dots had started to connect.

If there was one thing that Sasuke was absolutely positive of it was that Kyuubi and Naruto were two very different beings. Naruto was not the demon. Sasuke would have been content to leave it at that, but he knew he could no longer allow for excuses. If it wasn't Naruto who wanted him, if it was Kyuubi influencing Naruto, forcing his body to lie here with Sasuke, it would be the worse sin that Sasuke could do to keep Naruto against his will. Sasuke had spent the rest of the day watching for any signs of hesitancy, any flicker of doubt or disgust, but all he could see was excitement brimming out of him as they moved his meager belongings and arranged his plants.

So now here he was, lying awake like some fool watching his lover sleep. Sasuke reached up a hand to brush over Naruto's cheek. It was a testament to his training that he didn't flinch as bright red eyes snapped open to stare back at him.

"Careful, boy." It was a growled out warning, but it sounded like a tease. Perhaps it was the sinister smirk on Naruto's face that changed the words' meaning.

Sasuke worked hard to keep his breathing slow and steady and narrowed his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you."

The smirk stretched even further and in one fluid move, Naruto's body was straddling his, Naruto's hands pining his wrists by his head. Sasuke didn't dare to allow himself to blink and forced his body to relax.

"I wonder what it was about your family that first caught my attention- your power, or," there was a pause and a slow nip to Sasuke's ear, "your beauty?"

Sasuke turned his head slightly so that his eyes could track the movements of the body above him. He tried to think of a reply, but any remark he made he foresaw leading into dangerous territory. Instead, he changed the course of the conversation. He wasn't sure how much time he had, so he led into the topic that he was just thinking about. "Tsunade said something interesting today."

"Yes, I heard." Sasuke felt Naruto's weight settle more firmly on him and glanced away from the red eyes long enough to see that the smirk was still there. He felt one of his wrists released so that a claw tipped finger could be tapped against an ear. "I have very good hearing." Sasuke could have prevented his wrist from being reclaimed, but he was willing to play this game, for now, in favor of getting his answers.

"Of course. I'm aware." Sasuke scowled up at the near giddy expression.

"And I _know_ you; I know where your train of thought has taken you. It's an unfortunate Uchiha trait to over think things to death." Naruto's head cocked to the side and with a sigh, he bent his elbows to rest his weight on his forearms. "You want to know who loves you."

Sasuke knew where this was going. "You aren't going to tell me." He expected to see a grin, but instead there was a little frown and a scowl.

"Does it matter?

"Yes," Sasuke replied immediately.

"Would it make a difference?"

Sasuke couldn't answer that one as easily. Instead, he kept his reply generic. "I couldn't force someone to stay with me if they didn't love me."

That grin was back. "How very politic of you. Then, if I were to say that it wasn't Naruto who loved you, would you leave him? Would you let him leave you?"

Sasuke considered it. If Naruto wanted to leave him, he would let him. But he wasn't sure that he could be the one to walk away. He was selfish by nature. It was Naruto who was the selfless one, and Sasuke couldn't pretend to be as strong as he was.

"I reserve making decisions unless I have all the information." There was a chuckle an octave deeper than he was used to hearing and then he was being kissed, hard and unforgiving.

"Then I suppose you'll just have to be grateful for now." The amusement was clear in Naruto's voice.

"And I suppose you'll just continue to enjoy keeping me in suspense."

"Of course. You're most beautiful when you're suffering." The sentence was punctuated with a nip to the underside of his jaw, and then, with a shuddering exhale, the body on top of him relaxed. Sasuke counted his breathes until, "Sasuke, you're squeezing too hard; I can't breathe."

"Sorry," Sasuke mumbled and eased his grip. He hadn't noticed when he moved his arms. "Did I wake you?"

Naruto tilted his head so he could look Sasuke in the eye. Sasuke breathed out a sigh to see the blue he favored. "Mhm, but that's okay." A grin spread across his face, gentler and more sincere than the last one he saw. "I'd rather see you then to sleep."

Sasuke allowed himself to yield to Naruto's kisses.

After all, he supposed he could make at least one more excuse.


End file.
